AP PHOTOS: Chaos as hungry Palestinians overrun a Gaza aid site

AP PHOTOS: Chaos as hungry Palestinians overrun a Gaza aid site

ZAWAIDA, Gaza Strip (AP) — As hunger grows inGaza, hundreds ofPalestinians stormed a United Nations warehouseon Wednesday in search of food. A day earlier, a crowd was fired upon while overrunning an aid distribution site set up by a new foundation backed by Israel and the United States. The U.N. has rejected that new system, saying it cannot meet the needs of Gaza's over 2 million people. Until last week, Israel kept food and other supplies from entering Gaza for nearly three months as it pressures Hamas over their 19-month war. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

byDan Dunne

in

May 28, 2025

AP PHOTOS: Chaos as hungry Palestinians overrun a Gaza aid site

AP PHOTOS: Chaos as hungry Palestinians overrun a Gaza aid site ZAWAIDA, Gaza Strip (AP) — As hunger grows inGaza, hundreds ofPalestinians s...

Read More

Seattle’s faith leaders back mayor after dueling protests lead to 8 arrests

Seattle's faith leaders back mayor after dueling protests lead to 8 arrests

(The Center Square) – Dueling protests outside of Seattle City Hall have led to eight arrests for assault as Seattle faith leaders publicly side with Mayor Bruce Harrell in defending counterprotesters. On Saturday, the Seattle Police Departmentarrested 23 peopleat Cal Anderson Park during a rally hosted byOn Fire Ministriesthat focused on protecting children from transgender ideologies as part of the "#dontmesswithourkids" movement. Cal Anderson Park is within the Capitol Hill neighborhood – a prominent LGBTQ area – and where the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest – later known as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone – occurred in May 2020. Theprotestin front of Seattle City Hall on Tuesday was prompted by recent comments from Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, who called Saturday's rally far-right and said that it was held in Capitol Hill to provoke a reaction by promoting beliefs that "are inherently opposed to our city's values." Theeight arreststhat were made on Tuesday came after trans-rights supporters led their own demonstration outside city hall. No injuries were reported at the scene. The religious organizations participating in Tuesday's rally voiced their opposition to Harrell for his comments, demanding his resignation. However, some faith leaders in Seattle publicly sided with Harrell in ajoint statement, supporting the city's LGBTQ community. In the statement, Pastor Carey Anderson of the First A.M.E. Church, defended Harrell's comments and said that the religious organizations that attended the previous rallies "weaponize Christianity and preach extremist views [that] reflect poorly on the church and the whole ecumenical and interfaith community." The Rev. Reginald Avant of the Madrona Grace Presbyterian Church also condemned the rally on Saturday, calling attendants a "misguided group of believers who targeted the LGBTQI community." "What happened on Saturday had nothing to do with loving thy neighbor," Avant said. "We stand with the LGBTQI community on the right side for justice and love – because this is exactly what Jesus calls the church to do." The past events have resulted in divisive opinions and gained national attention. Federal government leaders are siding with the religious organizations that led the two rallies on Saturday and Tuesday, including U.S. Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, whoposted on social mediathat he has requested his team to investigate allegations of targeted violence against religious groups at Cal Anderson Park.

byDan Dunne

in

May 28, 2025

Seattle’s faith leaders back mayor after dueling protests lead to 8 arrests

Seattle's faith leaders back mayor after dueling protests lead to 8 arrests (The Center Square) – Dueling protests outside of Seattle Ci...

Read More

Harvard scientist Kseniia Petrova is granted bail but remains in custody on a smuggling charge

Harvard scientist Kseniia Petrova is granted bail but remains in custody on a smuggling charge

A federal judge on Wednesday granted bail toHarvard scientist Kseniia Petrova, who has spent more than three months in custody afterfailing to declare frog embryosupon arriving in the United State. U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss in Vermont saidPetrova's continued detention by immigration authoritieswas unjustified and raised serious legal concerns about the government's actions. While the decision represents a significant development in the case, it will not result in her imminent release. The government has until Friday to propose terms of her release, according to the ruling. Petrovaalso faces a federal smuggling charge in Massachusetts, where she was stopped at Boston Logan International Airport on her way back from Paris. She remains in U.S. marshals' custody and cannot be freed unless the District of Massachusetts also authorizes her release in the criminal case. In granting Petrova's release from immigration detention, Reiss questioned whether immigration officers had the authority torevoke Petrova's visa over a customs issueand said Petrova had been held too long without court review. The judge found that Petrova posed no danger and that any flight risk could be managed with conditions proposed by the government. Petrova's attorney said he would update the court after hearing from the marshals, but no bail hearing date was discussed during Wednesday's proceeding. The Russian-born scientist was stopped at Logan airport in February with undeclared frog embryo samples. Her J-1 visa was revoked, triggering removal proceedings. She was later criminally charged and transferred from ICE to federal custody. Her attorneys argue the visa cancellation was unlawful. "The Immigration and Nationality Act does not contain a provision that makes one inadmissible for committing a customs violation," said Gregory Romanovsky, Petrova's attorney. He called the government's actions a product of "unlawful conduct by CBP" and said her repeated requests for parole were denied without proper justification. Reiss said Petrova could update her petition to reflect the new criminal charge and changes in her case. She expressed concern that the way the government handled Petrova's case may have left her without a fair chance to challenge what was happening to her. "It was the government that revoked her visa," Reiss said. "And it's essentially saying, 'We revoked your visa, now you have no documentation, and now we're going to place you in removal proceedings.'" The court heard from multiple witnesses who talked about Petrova's scientific contributions and personal character. Dr. Michael West, a pioneer in regenerative medicine, testified that the frog samples were chemically treated, inert and nonhazardous. He said they posed "no threat to anybody" and had "no commercial value." West told the court he had verified the preparation method with collaborators in France. Colleagues from Harvard described Petrova as kind, conscientious and devoted to her work. "She is abundantly kind," said Cora Anderson, a research assistant who worked closely with Petrova. Marc Kirschner, a professor who leads the lab where Petrova works, said she played a critical role indeveloping computational tools for microscopy. Government lawyers said that officials do not currently intend to rearrest Petrova if she is released from federal custody, and the judge said she would rely on them to hold themselves to that. Petrova's attorney warned that DHS may move quickly to re-detain her under an immigration hold. Reiss emphasized the need for judicial oversight. As the hearing concluded, Reiss said the case regarding her immigration detention would remain in Vermont. Both sides are expected to continue debating the legal questions surrounding her detention, even as the terms of her release are finalized and criminal proceedings unfold in Massachusetts.

byDan Dunne

in

May 28, 2025

Harvard scientist Kseniia Petrova is granted bail but remains in custody on a smuggling charge

Harvard scientist Kseniia Petrova is granted bail but remains in custody on a smuggling charge A federal judge on Wednesday granted bail toH...

Read More

Air traffic control system must be improved to prevent problems like Newark airport, officials say

Air traffic control system must be improved to prevent problems like Newark airport, officials say

Theproblemsthat disrupted flights at New Jersey's largest airport this spring could be repeated anywhere across the country, so Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is trying to sell Congress on his plan tooverhaul the nation's air traffic control systemthat will cost "tens of billions." Duffy provided an update Wednesday on the repairs and staffing efforts that areunderwayto help eliminate the problems affecting Newark Liberty International Airport, which has been running more smoothly in the past few weeks since the airlines started to cut the number of flights they operate there. And Duffy emphasized that the Newark radar outages and air traffic control shortage are a prime example of why the antiquated system needs to be improved. "I'm concerned that we could have more Newarks. And again, why it's so important that we actually begin this build with the money that Congress is going to send us," he said. Duffy still wouldn't give a price tag of his expansive overhaul of the air traffic control system that he said is clearly needed after thedeadly midair collisionover Washington, D.C., in January that killed 67 people and all the problems affecting Newark this spring. But he said the $12.5 billion the House includedPresident Donald Trump's massive bill won't be enough because "it's going to be tens of billions of dollars." Duffy has been meeting privately with lawmakers since he unveiled the plan. But he said he wants to let Congress "do the dance the way the Congress dances" to develop a plan to pay for the program. Problems ease at Newark airport The problems that led to hundreds of cancellations and delays at Newark do seem to have improved since the Federal Aviation Administration limited the number of flights at the airport so they could handle it with the number of controllers available. The already short-staffed air traffic control facility in Philadelphia that directs planes in and out of Newark lost five controllers to trauma leave after the first radar and communications outage on April 28 and another one is out on medical leave. That left the facility with only 16 certified controllers and five supervisors. But Duffy said there are another 16 experienced controllers in training that he hopes will start to get certified between now and October. That is an example of how the FAA remains about 3,000 short on the number of air traffic controllers it wants, so Duffy has also tried tospeed up the hiring and training processwhile offering incentives to keep experienced controllers from retiring early. The FAA has said that it expects to be able to bump up the number of flights daily in Newark to 34 arrivals and 34 departures once a runway construction project is completed in mid-June. That is also about the time that some of the controllers on a 45-day trauma leave might be scheduled to return. The FAA will revisit the limits in October because it hopes to have more controllers trained by then. The government also upgraded the software at the air traffic control facility after a second radar outage onMay 9.That helped prevent arepeat problem on May 11. FAA addresses telecommunications problems The FAA is also working on the telecommunications problems. Duffy said Verizon worked quickly to install a new fiber optic line between Philadelphia and New York over the past month, but the FAA wants to thoroughly test it out before switching over, so that likely won't be available until July. After that, the FAA plans to also improve the lines between New York and the Newark airport because some of them are still copper wires. "Clearly something wasn't going right when we experienced these outages," acting FAA administrator Chris Rocheleau said. "Right now, part of this effort, part of this initiative, is to ensure we're acting with decisiveness, right — with focus — to make sure the lines get in, to make sure those redundancies are put in, to make sure the controllers have the tools they need to make the system safe, to operate safely." In the meantime, Duffy said it would be a good idea for pilots to brush up on their procedures of how to handle an outage because they can happen. In addition to the problems in Newark, controllers in Denverlost their radiosfor a couple minutes earlier this month. Duffy said there were also several other outages affecting Newark last year that didn't get public attention. "We have to look at the real world around us and some of the issues that come up and make sure we are brushed up and ready to go, should there be a brief outage," Duffy said. "And again, that there'sa lot of redundancyand a lot of procedures that keep people safe should this happen."

byDan Dunne

in

May 28, 2025

Air traffic control system must be improved to prevent problems like Newark airport, officials say

Air traffic control system must be improved to prevent problems like Newark airport, officials say Theproblemsthat disrupted flights at New ...

Read More

Hamas Leader Mohammed Sinwar Killed, Netanyahu Says

Hamas Leader Mohammed Sinwar Killed, Netanyahu Says

The European Hospital, pictured in July 2024. Israel says that Sinwar was killed during an airstrike on the hospital on May 13. Credit - Anas Zeyad Fteha—Getty Images Hamas's de facto leader in Gaza, Mohammed Sinwar, was killed during a recent airstrike, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said on Wednesday. Netanyahupreviously saidlast week that it was probable the leader had been killed by significant airstrikes Israel carried out on the European Hospital in Khan Younis on May 13. At the time of the strike,Israeli sources told CNNthat it had targeted Sinwar, the brother of the previous leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar. Yahya Sinwar, whowas killed in October 2024by an airstrike on Gaza,is regarded as the lead orchestratorof the Hamas-led attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023, in which over 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage. The Prime Minister confirmed Mohammed Sinwar's death during the airstrikes on Khan Younis during a May 28 speech in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, marking 600 days since the October 7 attacks and the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Hamas has not yet commented on Netanyahu's claim. Mohammed Sinwar is the latest of a number of Hamas chiefs and top figures to be killed by Israel since the start of the war. Last August,the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that they had killed Mohammed Deif, Hamas's military leader, in a strike the previous month. The strike on July 14, 2024, targeted Deif, hitting a displacement camp. Itreportedly killed 90 people, including children. Days before confirming Deif's death,Hamas announced the death of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas's then-political chief. Haniyeh was killed in a precise strike on his residence in Tehran, Iran. After the airstrike on the European Hospital in Khan Younis on May 13, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesussaid the hospital was no longer accessible.Twenty-eight people were reportedly killed in the airstrike, according to Gaza's Civil Defense Agency. Israeli strikes on medical facilities across Gaza have been frequent, with the IDF claiming that these areas are used by Hamas to conduct their operations. The IDFsaid in a statement on X that the strikein Khan Younis "destroyed an underground terrorist infrastructure of the Hamas terrorist organization," under the European Hospital. Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) said on May 28 that these strikes on medical facilities are part of a "systematic dismantling of Gaza's already fragile health system," in a press statement. The statement detailed that five hospitals have been directly hit in the last two weeks, leaving four non-functional. The organization added that as of May 23, more than 90% of health services across Gaza have become either completely non-functional or partially functional. Contact usatletters@time.com.

byDan Dunne

in

May 28, 2025

Hamas Leader Mohammed Sinwar Killed, Netanyahu Says

Hamas Leader Mohammed Sinwar Killed, Netanyahu Says The European Hospital, pictured in July 2024. Israel says that Sinwar was killed during ...

Read More